The Nonrecourse Marketing Assistance Loan Program (MAL) is a marketing tool available for select commodities. Authorized through Title I of the farm bill, MALs provide cash to producers at harvest to allow storage and marketing of the crop for a nine-month period following harvest. Producers repay the MAL (with interest) or forfeit the crop that was pledged as collateral to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). MAL rates are defined in the farm bill for each eligible commodity and are thus a point of negotiation in farm bill debates. [READ MORE]
